


singing sores make perfect swords

by agentmmayy



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Post Season 5, i mean i guess, mama may, melinda may is the best mom, set in the year long gap between seasons 5 and 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-02 05:45:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18804928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentmmayy/pseuds/agentmmayy
Summary: After two months in space, the crew come back to the Lighthouse, on Mother's Day even. Only, it seems like Daisy is the only one who remembers what day it is and even brought a gift for the one agent she considers to be mom.





	singing sores make perfect swords

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't let *another* Mother's Day pass without writing something for the softest Mother Daughter duo and relationship on the show. it was going to be angstier but my brain refused to let go of the idea of Daisy coming back from space like "mom, I got you a space sword!" so here we are. big thank you to alina for talking all of the ideas for this fic through and al for beta-ing <3
> 
> hope you enjoy!

The water recedes from the docking bay, pitter-pattering against the concrete. Melinda doesn’t wait for the last of it to drain before she’s walking toward the Zephyr. She sloshes through a few puddles, beating any other agents to the ramp as it lowers. Foolishly, she holds out hope that there will be an extra crew member returning, but that hope is quickly squashed as agents begin to file out. They each bare the same somber, exhausted expressions. 

Piper and Davis appear, briefly pausing their conversation to greet her before walking off. Jemma’s next, but before Melinda can open her mouth, the woman rushes past. She watches, heart breaking for her, but Melinda’s attention shifts to the next figure walking down the ramp. 

It’s Daisy, still in her quake suit and looking like she could use a full day of sleep. Even through her exhaustion, Daisy brightens when she finds Melinda. 

“Hey,” she smiles, stepping off the ramp. “It’s so good to see you.”

“You too,” Melinda says, ignoring the need to pull Daisy close just for reassurance that she’s finally back and she’s alright. It’s been a few long months without seeing or hearing her. “How was space?”

Daisy sighs and adjusts the strap of her bag higher up on her shoulder as they begin walking. “It was insane, as always.” She glances at Melinda. “How have you been?”

Melinda shrugs and tilts her chin in the direction where Simmons fled as they leave the hanger. “How is she?”

“She’s.” Daisy follows her gaze. A frown pulls at her lips. “Still holding on.”

“Davis and Piper?”

Daisy rolls her eyes. “Still bickering. Were Hunter and I always that bad?”

Melinda snorts. “Even worse. Any leads?”

“Just dead ends and rabbit trails - or whatever the alien equivalent to a rabbit is.”

“I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”

“How’s everything here?” Daisy asks between greeting other agents they pass. “Mack and Elena?”

“Mack’s -” Melinda grapples for words. “Struggling but he’s working it out. He’s a good Director. Elena and I have been sparring.”

“Really?” Daisy looks surprised. “How’s that going?”

“She needs to remember she’s stronger than me now, at least in the upper half of her body. My shoulders aren’t what they used to be.”

“I think that just has to do with age.”

Melinda stops walking and turns to her, crossing her arms. “You calling me old?”

Balking, Daisy quickly backtracks. “No. Of course not. I just was - you’re just not in your… prime anymore.” Melinda can’t help but be amused at her babbling and Daisy catches it. With a gasp, she playfully shoves Melinda who muffles her laughter. “Jerk.”

They keep walking. Melinda doesn’t miss how Daisy keeps looking around the Lighthouse.

“I miss being back here,” she says. “Yang and Williams aren’t making the next trip.”

“Why not?”

Daisy shrugs. “They miss their families.” She glances around the hall they’re in before lowering her voice, all traces of teasing gone. “And I think they think Jemma would sacrifice us all if it meant she found Fitz.”

Melinda frowns. “Would they be wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

By now, they’ve reached the door of Daisy’s bunk. It’s the same one from the first time they came back from space, but the only difference is that May’s is right beside hers. Melinda relocated after she came back from Tahiti, needing to be close to the family she had left, specifically Daisy. After all, Daisy was all she had left of Phil. More often than not, the younger woman would find her way into Melinda’s bunk at night when she, or both of them, couldn’t sleep. It was relieving, not to be alone anymore. 

Daisy quickly punches in the code to her lock, already groaning in anticipation of being back at her bunk. “You don’t know how ready I am to take a shower without feeling like the water is pelting my bones. The pressure up there is horrific even inside the Zephyr.”

“I’ll leave you to it.”

“Actually.” Just as she’s about to open the door, Daisy pauses and looks to Melinda. “Can you stay?” she asks, worrying her bottom lip. “I have some more pictures you can look at.”  _ I missed you. _

Melinda nods and follows Daisy inside, taking a seat on her bed as Daisy beelines to the bathroom. The bunk feels better with Daisy in it, even if she’s in the attached bathroom. Her presence exists in the bunk even when she’s not there, in trinkets, strewn clothes, and whatnot but Melinda finds sitting in the bedroom more bearable when she knows Daisy is only a few feet away. When Daisy and the rest of the crew were away, Melinda would occasionally sneak into Daisy’s bunk and simply sit on her bed. It made her absence the slightest bit more bearable. That’s what parents did when their kid was away, right?

Daisy tossed her phone onto the bed, so Melinda picks it up, unlocking it with the number sequence 781964. She opens the gallery, bypassing the photos and videos of Phil she knows are in there. Instead, Melinda scrolls through seemingly endless pictures of space. There are planets she couldn’t even dream up, galaxies bursting with colors that don’t exist on earth, and a massive expanse of stars that dot the black void. It’s extraordinary to see images that no telescope has yet captured, but at the same time, Melinda is resentful to the pictures. Space took everything from her. The full use of her leg, a daughter and life she never had, Fitz,  _ Phil _ . Yet in the same way space took, it gave. Without the alien supplying the GH, Phil wouldn’t have lived those extra, precious six years. 

Melinda doesn’t realize how tight her body has become until the bathroom door opens. She releases her white-knuckled grip from the phone and glances up to see Daisy standing there, fresh out of the shower but clothed and toweling her hair dry. 

“Good shower?”

“So good,” Daisy groans. She tosses the towel into the bathroom without looking back before crossing the bedroom. She’s wearing an old academy t-shirt of Phil’s, one she pilfered from him years back and a pair of sweatpants that Melinda once lost during laundry day. 

Daisy crouches by her bag that she dumped at the foot of her bed as soon as she walked in. Unzipping it, she glances up at Melinda, almost nervously. “I, uh, brought you something.”

Melinda frowns, confused. The only things Daisy and the crew have brought back so far aside from pictures are negative reports, an empty ship, and dwindling hope. But, from her bag Daisy pulls out an object about half a foot in length, wrapped sloppily in fabric. With a somewhat bashful smile, she holds it out to Melinda. 

“Sorry, we didn’t have any wrapping paper on board, and there was no gift wrap option where I got it from.”

Much to Melinda’s surprise, the object is lighter than expected. Still, she hefts it experimentally, hesitating to unwrap it just to watch Daisy nervously shuffle her feet. Melinda’s fingers run over the fabric and the object wrapped in it. Whatever it is, it’s sturdy. Finally, Melinda’s curiosity gets the better of her, and she carefully lifts the folds of fabric away. 

What lays in her lap after she’s finished momentarily steals her breath away. The object is a weapon, more specifically the hilt of what Melinda assumes to be a sword. It’s a very shiny, decorative metal that gleams with intricate carvings of a language she doesn’t understand. Even with the ornateness, the sword still manages to be conservative and practical enough to be easily wielded. Excitement tingles at the back of Melinda’s spine. Her hands itch to hold the sword properly.

“It -”

Before Daisy can finish, Melinda stands, firmly grasps the hilt and from one side of it, a blade unsheathes with a speed that leaves her blinking in bewilderment. 

“- does that,” Daisy finishes. She leaped back as soon as Melinda stood and scoots back a little further. “The other side has it too. It even elongates.”

With the same fervor of a child on Christmas morning, Melinda flips the sword around. The corners of her lips quirk up as another blade, the same length as the first one, unsheathes. Grasping the hilt with both hands, she tugs. With a distinct  _ shing _ , the hilt lengthens, and the sword grows about a foot. It’s taller than her now, but Melinda isn’t intimidated. She runs her hand over the hilt, feeling the cool metal beneath her palm. The sword is exquisite but, Melinda quickly composes herself. 

“It’s a space sword,” Daisy breathes, stepping closer once she’s sure Melinda won’t be swinging the sword around anymore.

Melinda switches the sword to her other hand, eyeing it appreciatively. “They sell these up there?”

“Not exactly.” At Melinda’s raised eyebrow, Daisy confesses, “I picked it off one of the aliens I fought.”

“You win?”

“Of course,” Daisy scoffs, preening a bit at the proud glint in Melinda’s eyes. “Didn't even get a scratch.”

“Good,” Melinda says. She runs the flat of her index finger over the blade with the barest amount of pressure. Any more and it would draw blood. “It’s sharp.”

Sheathing the sword, Melinda regrettably sets the hilt aside. Her fingers linger over it for a second before pulling away.

“Yeah,” Daisy agrees. She sits down beside Melinda on the bed. “I saw it in action. We made a pit stop on Igiri, I think, to get more fuel. Even with the new modifications that thing does not get good gas mileage. Only, the authorities there recognized me pretty quick and didn’t take too well to our visit. I held them off long enough for the crew to reconnect the fuel lines and Davis to get us out of there.”

“Impressive.”

With a smile, Daisy bumps their shoulders together. “You taught me best.”

Melinda scoffs but doesn’t hold back her fond smile. “You taught yourself.”

“Except with how to use a semi-automatic.”

That part was true, but now Daisy knows how to quake semi-automatics  _ apart _ . Her powers are her best weapon now. 

“You got me a sword,” Melinda says. “From space.”

“Don’t worry. This one doesn’t induce blinding rage.”

“I’m glad.” Melinda can go for the rest of her life without coming in contact with another Berserker staff. “Does it do anything else?”

Daisy shakes her head. “Not that I know of. I was disappointed that it isn't a type of lightsaber. We haven't come across any of those yet."

“Good.”

There’s a lengthy pause in the conversation after that. Melinda glances to Daisy, concerned and curious as to if the girl fell asleep but Daisy’s eyes are open, and glued to the carpet beneath them. Her feet swing anxiously, and her fingers play with the pills of fabric on the comforter.

As Melinda is about to ask what’s wrong, Daisy turns to her and blurts, “Happy Mother’s Day.”

Melinda blinks. She’d completely forgotten about the celebration. “It is, isn’t it?”

“Yep.”

She smiles and reaches to squeeze Daisy’s knee gently. “Thank you for the space sword.”

“You’re welcome,” Daisy says before adding, “Mom.”

Melinda’s heart skips at the name. It isn’t the first time Daisy’s called her that, but it’s been about a month or two since she’s heard it. She draws Daisy closer, dropping a kiss to the younger woman’s hairline. Daisy snuggles against her, making a brief, content purr. 

“I can’t wait to see you kick ass with it.”

“How about we go right now?” Melinda asks. “You and me?”

“Oh, no,” Daisy says, pulling away. She shakes her head emphatically. “No. No. No way. I’ve been thrown around enough from both alien anti-gravity guns and Davis’ flying. I’m good.  _ So  _ good.”

“But it’s Mother’s Day.”

She groans, flopping back onto the bed. “I never should have reminded you.”

“It’s too late,” Melinda says. She pats Daisy’s thigh and reaches for the sword. “Come on. You can’t just give me a sword from  _ space  _ and not expect me to want to try it out.”

“Not on me at least,” Daisy whines.

“How about some of those dummies, then? They won’t complain.”

With a smirk, Daisy sits back up. “Or I can take you with us next time. There are tons of aliens up there that need to meet you.”

“Nice try,” Melinda scoffs no matter how enticing the idea of beating up aliens may be. “But I’m not going back there. Besides, if we destroy a few dummies, then Mack will need to order more. He’ll finally get a distraction from obsessing over that damn box.”

Daisy’s quiet for a few seconds before she asks, “Does he still watch the recordings?”

“Every morning.”

The nod Daisy gives is jerky. Even as she ducks her head, Melinda spots the sheen of tears in her eyes. “I wish I could see him again,” she says. “Even from a hologram.” Daisy shifts, drawing her knees up to wrap her arms around them. “I - I keep rewatching the videos I have of him on my phone, but it’s not the same.”

“It’s not,” Melinda agrees. “I - it hurts each time I go to Mack’s office, and I hear his voice. I almost expect to see him there, really there, on the other side of it but.” She swallows thickly. “He’s gone.”

Daisy sniffles, lower lip wobbling. “He is.” Her voice is nothing more than a broken whisper. “It’s so hard, May.”

Melinda places a hand on Daisy’s back, rubbing soothing circles. The contact is a comfort for both of them. “It’ll get easier with time.”

It isn’t Melinda’s first time mourning Phil, but it is Daisy’s. At least this time they have each other. 

Daisy nods. She draws in a breath before letting out a wet laugh. “Can you even imagine him today if he was here?” Daisy shakes her head, wiping at her eyes. “He’d probably force me to make you a card or have one already and make us sign it. I’d forge Fitz’s signature, of course.”

Even though tears sting at the corners of her eyes, Melinda jokes, “What, no mug with painted handprints?”

“Mack’s handprint wouldn’t fit,” Daisy giggles. “Besides, I got you a space sword. Nothing can top that.”

Melinda hums. “True.”

Unwinding her arms from around her knees, Daisy shifts closer to Melinda who welcomes her, lifting her arm to drape around Daisy’s shoulders as the girl snuggles into her side. Daisy grasps Melinda’s hand with her own, anchoring the woman to her. She presses her cheek to Melinda’s shoulder as if trying to get as close to the woman as possible. 

“You’re the best mom,” she whispers. “And you’re the best, mom.”

Instead of replying, Melinda kisses Daisy’s hair, pressing her nose to the same spot. They sit there for a while, neither of them moving or speaking, just reveling in each other’s presence. It’s the first mother’s day Melinda’s spent with the person she most considers her daughter. It’s her first mother’s day as a  _ mom _ . 

A thought creeps into Melinda’s mind, and she doesn’t hesitate to ask, “Did you get me the sword just because it’s Mother’s Day?”

“Nah,” Daisy says, shifting to look at her. “I would’ve given it to you anyway. Mother’s Day was just really convenient.” 

Melinda pokes Daisy’s side, biting the inside of her cheek as the girl squirms with a laugh. Daisy settles against her once more, leaning to rest her temple against Melinda’s neck. In turn, Melinda rests her cheek on Daisy’s head, lifting the hand she has around her to brush through Daisy’s hair. A low, weak purr fills the bunk as Daisy sighs. Suddenly, Melinda’s heart is gripped with a an intense rush of affection. She tightens the arm she has around Daisy. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too, mom.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! happy mother's day! <3


End file.
